A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday challenging its move to appoint a judge to oversee proceedings of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) references against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has appointed Supreme Court's Justice Ijazul Ahsan to oversee the proceedings against the Sharif family and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The Express Tribune reported that barrister Zafrullah Khan of the Watan Party in his plea filed before the Lahore registry of the top court had submitted that every citizen had the right to a fair trial, and therefore, appointing a judge to monitor the proceedings, violated this right, he added.

He further submitted that every citizens reserved the right to appeal a court's decision and the higher judiciary should ensure that everyone was granted their basic rights.